Lori McNeil

Lori McNeil enjoyed a professional tennis career that spanned almost two decades. Her father, Charlie McNeil, played in the NFL in the 1960s and later moved their family to Houston, where she became childhood and lifelong friends with Zina Garrison.

Lori played Division I tennis at Oklahoma State University, where she reached the 1983 NCAA quarterfinals before losing to the eventual champion. After college, Lori competed on the WTA tour for 19 years. She won 10 singles and 33 doubles titles, reaching career-high No.9 (1988) and No.4 (1987) in singles and doubles, respectively. Interestingly, Lori beat Steffi Graf in two first-round tournament matches. In one of those, Steffi was the returning champion, and it was the first time in Grand Slam history that a returning champion had lost in the first round of that tournament. Throughout her career, Lori reached the quarterfinal stage or beyond at 22 Grand Slam events.

Lori coached WTA No.5 Amanda Coetzer, and in 2002, they reached the Australian Open quarterfinals. In 2004 and 2008, Lori was assistant coach of the U.S. Women’s Olympic teams. In 2006, she was inducted into the ITF Hall of Fame.